Staff Picks - 5 Apr 2017

Welcome to this week's staff picks, today we bring you a number of different companions, another way of organising your settlements, a mod that allows you to finally buy items that you can see within a shop and some awesome community picks that will extend your game time. Check them out and let us know what you think.

Remember, we love to hear the communities picks so keep them coming by using this handy form.

Please fill out the form completely and ensure that you add some details about the mod and why you have chosen it (similar to how our community members have below).

Just remember that other mods on the site may do roughly the same thing, so keep your eyes peeled and understand that these are just personal picks. That said, hopefully, you'll find something you may not have seen before.

I’m honestly surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention. This mod allows you to save specific items in their own list for quick access later on. This is especially handy if you own all the DLC and have added craftable settlement item mods on top. If there are specific items you know you work with a lot, this mod can expedite the process of digging through workshop menus to get to the right items.

During my brief testing, I had no issues. The controls to target an item are a bit odd, requiring that you grab the item you want to save, quickly cancel, and jump. Once you get used to it, it’s not so bad, but it might be nice if there was a simpler way to bring up the favourites menu options on a selected item.

In any case, aside from that one minor complaint, the mod does what it claims to do. To be clear, I personally find the whole settlement building thing to completely detract from what I look for in a Fallout experience. I have Minecraft for building. Fallout is about exploration and setting, to me. Any mod that helps me cut down on the amount of time I spend in the workshop menu is good in my book. While I’ve turned to Transfer Settlements and Sim Settlements for most of my settlement needs, this mod will certainly come in useful for those times when I want to adjust things by hand.

When I first started looking at this mod it wasn't in the hot files, but such is its popularity that since I chose the mod it has now taken pride of place within those most fabled of mods. Anyway, I digress.

Dogmeat has always been my favourite of the companions, I had a German Shepherd and having Dogmeat alongside me in the wasteland is pretty cool, he doesn't get shirty or miserable at me, he doesn't bark orders or requests at me and he just works tirelessly to protect my scrawny ass from all manner of the Fallout world baddies - without a single iota of care for his own personal safety. With the help of this mod, Dogmeat is now more badass than ever - with nearly twice the health and a big damage boost he can now tear a Mudcrab apart. My favourite part is the fact his speed has been boost to be more akin to a real life dog. Watching him sprint up to that pesky raider always leaves a smile on my face.

If you enjoy playing with a companion, then I recommend giving this mod a try.

Here's a mod that does exactly what it says on the tin. By simply highlighting and interacting with any item in a shop, you can now purchase it at fair market value rather than defaulting to stealing the item. You still have the option of stealing it though, by simply sneaking before interacting with the item, in case you're feeling grabby. Convenient, intuitive, and immersive? You betcha.

Thankfully as it's a script based mod, it probably has very few critical compatibility issues so it's likely to compliment most load-orders. So, if you're like me and wondered why you could never simply purchase the sweet rolls on the counter or a sword directly from the display rack in vanilla, give this one a try!

Heather is a brilliant companion! Her Enhanced Sneak mode of combat is nothing short of fantastic! I run a high sneak/sniper build and she never breaks cover and won't engage until your hit or stand up. Her quests are terrific and will take you across the Commonwealth. Her perks have to be worked for and are worth the effort. For the "lone wanderer" in survival, she's a real must have! IMHO the llama had done it again!!

As a "mod" this goes far beyond what in my mind a mod is. This is a complete DLC with a storyline, quests, assets and voice actors.

The design of the of the interiors, the awesome humour and attention to detail is staggering. Never mind the technical proficiency of the creators. Not to divulge any spoilers but the use of the mem pods to create little adventures in themselves, and what happens at the end of the main quest is proof that these guys have technical capabilities, creativeness and a great love for the game.

If you read the terminals you get added content, both in the FO-universe, but also tie-ins to current events in RL, and cultural references to movies and other.

Several hours worth of high-quality gaming and they don't even want donations. That, combined with the helpfulness, always answering questions in a friendly way, and documentation on the mod page (FAQ, known issues etc) make this a professional package.

This one is even better (IMHO) than their Fusion City release... if such a thing is possible.

Every week, we feature a few mods that have caught our staff's attention, as well as some that were submitted by you, the Nexus Mods community. If there is a mod you'd like to see on this list, then please check out this quick and handy form.

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Thank you so much BlindJudge for your staff pick of my mod: Dogmeat A True Companion. I never expected so much attention when I made this mod. I started off building the overhaul when I was playing the game with my friends watching me over Steam since they didn't own Fallout 4. They always wondered why I never used Dogmeat and one of my friends brought up fixing it so I did. It's nice to see so many people glad to use him again because every Fallout deserves a good Dogmeat and the default one we got was sadly underwhelming. Thanks for everything!!

You are more than welcome and I totally agree with your sentiment. I always preferred Dogmeat to other companions, but just found him a bit 'meh' in vanilla. Your mod gave him a new lease of well-deserved life and I enjoy using him in the game again, so it's me saying "Thank you" to you.

LLama RCA's Heather rocks. Great pick. Going off topic.. I just tried Skyrim SE clean and then with a handful of mods and OMG I am soo underwhelmed. Feels like 1 step forward and 3 steps backwards. What is it with the suits at Bethesda? Don't they listen to their own devs and their customers? Just like FO4 minimal if any animation support (HDT). Oh.. consoles cannot handle the graphics processing demand. Oh well. Sigh. back to the real Skyrim with my 200 plus mods. and jiggles. Since I jiggle.. why shouldn't I in Skyrim?

"Recently" as in not long after the CK package was launched with all the official plugins needed to make animations, meshes and texturing, soon followed by mod maker tools for every aspect, including custom animations. It's difficult to accept you're wrong, but you sometimes need to.

The pictures of scantily clad women on the mod page for Outcasts and Remnants really put me off. Is it possible to enjoy that mod without experiencing that content or is it forced down your throat? I also haven't played Fusion City Rising for that same reason.

Seriously, if one doesn't like a mod/a mod's content, don't download it & keep one's comments to oneself please. It's comments like this are what lead to mod authors losing the motivation to continue to create free content for all to enjoy. Games like FO4/Skyrim would have died out LONG AGO if it wren't for mod authors & the content they provide for us free of charge. Thank you.

Apologies. The Fomod Installer with the burka option fell through when the author of the burka mod filed a complaint, and two of the 500 custom NPC's in the mod ended up stuck in bathing suits. Fortunately the Account Options block mod author function still works.

In a (game)world where common household decorations include corpses on hooks or impaled, where You can gain the ability to explode Your enemies with a bullet or become a cannibal should You choose to do so, I hardly find a few not-dressed-for-arctic-warfare ladies very upsetting.

On the other hand, maybe the OP is just winding us up. If so, well played

We won't keep our comments to ourselves. It was a simple question and the best thing to do would be to answer it. People hear need to get their heads out of their backsides and understand that just because something is free does not make it free from either feedback or criticism. And any mod author that is so thin skinned that they can't handle it is free to close their comments section. To answer your question, no I don't think you will find it offensive at all. They are both quality mods and some of the few quality quest mods available for Fallout 4.

Considering you pick a fight with everyone in half the mod pages I visit, Ethreon, you aren't really one to talk. You do exactly the same thing by commenting on every post that you don't like. If you don't like the posts you are free to ignore them, aren't you? You have literally become the biggest troll on Nexus so no surprise you are here. The word is hypocrite, it would do you a service to look it up.

LoveBlanket: Out of respect for the superior other 4 mods listed on Staff Picks this week, can we pretty please not muddy up this thread any further over a silly mod like Outcasts and Remnants?

We created a special forum thread, just for you, or anyone else who wants to chime in, over on the OAR mod page. We'll be happy to discuss over there all you want. I'm sure Ethreon, Defender of Mod Authors Everywhere, would be happy to join in.

HiOMG! their are some with a " Prudish Disposition." was they born like this, I don't think so. or has their mind been corrupted by other Prudish ideas from other closed minded adults.. the answer is yes. they have had their mind distorted, pulled or twisted out of shape. = brainwashed. but they don't know it.It is these people who become TROLLERS of Adult material.. but they have no idea WHY?So I'll forgive them, for they know not what they do, or why.

oh my god! what if they came across my adult mod. literally. Call the medic, they'd have an heart attack.I wonder if prudes (secretly) ever watch porn?I think the answer to that is also "Yes"--------------------Hi Loveblanket. I did look up the word hypocrite.perhaps I'm one too!. . but in the other direction.coz I never use a mod without "scantily clad women. in the pix." I know those of a "Prudish Disposition" would call me "A Pervert." But, I'd still say I'd forgive them. Coz they know not Why, they say it.

.. the worst gaff of and otherwise fantastic mod was the inclusion of the whole current political crap (Clinton/Trump) into a fantasy game where i come to escape all that .. after one complete play-through I'll be uninstalling this mod permanently for that one reason alone .. otherwise, this mod competes very well with the whole Fusion City add-on (arguably the best DLC-level Mod to date) ..